Faux Paw
by FFcrazy15
Summary: "This is so cool, I can't believe Kingsley and Mad-Eye are a part of this- and Professor Dumbledore, too! And did you hear?" "Hear what?" "Mad-Eye said that there's a werewolf in the Order!" In which Tonks makes a faux pas, Sirius gets the wrong idea, and Remus takes it like a gentleman. (Technically part of the "Full and New" universe, but can stand on its own.)


_Faux Paw_

 _SUMMARY: "This is so cool, I can't believe Kingsley and Mad-Eye are a part of this- and Professor Dumbledore, too! And did you hear?" "Hear what?" "Mad-Eye said that there's a werewolf in the Order!" In which Tonks makes a faux pas, Sirius gets the wrong idea, and Remus takes it like a gentleman. (Technically part of the "Full and New" universe, but can stand on its own.)_

 **Warnings: None.**

 **Disclaimer: I neither own the intellectual property of the Harry Potter universe, nor do I profit from this work produced here.**

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The quiet _hiss_ of the gas-lamps lighting in the dingy hallway started the werewolf as he shut the door behind him; it seemed that the house had recognized his entrance. "I'll never get used to that," he murmured, taking care to avoid the grotesque troll's-leg umbrella stand that had tripped him up before his first meeting. Standing in the stifling near-silence of 12 Grimmauld Place, dust and pretention and dark magic thick in the air, Remus was again struck with the understanding of just why a young Sirius had been so grateful to escape to the lofty medieval beauty of Hogwarts each fall.

"Remus!" a voice called, or what counted for a call in this place. As if by magic, Sirius himself appeared out of the shadowed recesses of the hallway, hurrying forward into the dim orange light of the lamps. "We were beginning to think you wouldn't make it!"

"The meeting doesn't start for ten minutes."

"Yeah, but you're always early." He eyed the man in front of him suspiciously. "What happened?"

Remus offered a thin smile. "I had a job interview."

"Oh." Sirius's face turned grim. Neither needed to articulate the fact that Remus's tardiness was due to his having to clean himself up from a few nasty hexes, rather than the interview itself running long. "Well, come in; Molly's got soup on the stove for after the meeting."

"Lovely."

He followed his friend into the dining room, where the other Order members were standing around the table, talking in low tones. "Evening, Remus," Kingsley intoned. "Thought you were watching Harry tonight?"

"I took the morning shift for Bill; apparently something came up at the bank. Where's Mad-Eye?"

"He'll be along; he had to give the location to a new recruit."

"A new recruit?"

Kingsley grinned. "One of our top aurors; brilliant young lady."

"Thinks Fudge is off his rocker for pretending there's nothing to fear," a voice growled from behind, and Remus jumped, turning around. Mad-Eye looked back disapprovingly. "And here I thought that you'd be putting that canine hearing to use. We're at war, Lupin; constant vigilance!"

"Yes, sir," the werewolf replied hastily. The old auror gave a huff and disappeared into the crowd. "Where's the new recruit, then?"

"You know Mad-Eye; probably thought it would be suspicious to arrive here at the same time. Oh, there's Arthur; if you'll excuse me, Remus."

As Kingsley made his way over to the redheaded man, Remus stood quietly to the side, hands stuck into the pockets of his jumper. Across the room he caught Molly Weasley's eye; the plump matriarch gave him a nervous smile, which he returned with a warm one of his own. Remus liked Molly; although it was clear that she wasn't quite comfortable around him, she tried to make it up by insisting he eat more _("You're thinner than Ron, honestly!")_ and calling him "Professor," which both embarrassed and flattered him. She'd even admitted to him once, in a blushing and flustered way, that she believed him the most capable defense professor her children had had in years and rather wished he'd been able to continue teaching.

He was broken out of his reverie by a loud crash in the hallway, followed by resulting shrieks of, _"You! Spawn of blood-traitors and mudbloods, disgrace of our blood! How fortunate my brother's death; how he would weep to see his daughter's shame, besmirching the house of his ancestors!"_ And, in a bellowing tone quite unlike the first, _"OH SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG!"_

"I've got it!" Remus called over the din, hurrying to the door. Halfway down the corridor a figure was struggling to her knees, the troll's-leg umbrella stand spilling its contents on the dusty carpet. The portrait of Walburga Black was still spouting oaths and condemnations. _"Mudbloods and blood-traitors and half-breeds alike! Filth and scum! Begone, vile wretches, begone!"_

 _"_ _Occludo!"_ Remus shouted, brandishing his wand at the curtains. The portrait shrieked as they flew shut, and then the hallway was silent, save for the huffs of the woman on the floor.

"Oh, er, allow me," Remus said awkwardly, bending down to give her a hand. The woman glanced up, grateful, and it was only then that he realized her hair was a startling shade of orange.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed, letting him help her to her feet and glancing to the portrait with distaste. "So that was Great Aunty Walburga, eh? She's a right piece of work." She grinned at him and offered a hand. "Nymphadora Tonks, but if you ever call me _Nymphadora_ I will hex you into next week."

"Tonks?" Remus said as he shook it, surprised. "As in Andromeda and Edward Tonks?"

"They're my folks, which I guess makes Sirius and me family, not that we ever got invited 'round here for dinners, did we? Bet you Walburga and Orion would just _die_ if they knew what we were using this place for now."

"That they would, if her portrait is any indication," Remus said with a chuckle. "You're the new inductee Mad-Eye was bringing around, aren't you? The auror?"

"That's me!" 'Tonks' agreed cheerfully. "Say, where is everyone?"

"In the dining room; right this way."

She followed him down the hall and into the room, where she was greeted by Mad-Eye, Kingsley and Arthur. When they had moved on, Remus remained behind; the young auror's eager personality was lifting his glum mood considerably, and she seemed more than willing to chat about everything and everyone in the room.

"There's Sirius," she breathed, spotting the dark-haired man across the table. "Blimey, its strange, seeing him in person after all this time… This is so _cool,_ I can't believe Kingsley and Mad-Eye are a part of this- and Professor Dumbledore, too! And did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Remus inquired politely.

Tonks lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Mad-Eye said," she nearly whispered, glancing around, "that there's a _werewolf_ in the Order!"

The man felt his face go slack, realizing he'd forgotten to introduce himself and the woman clearly had no idea who he was. Tonks took his expression for shock, and she nodded. "Right? Apparently his name is Remus Lupin, old school chum of my cousin's. I wonder when he'll get here?" She glanced around with interest.

"What makes you think he isn't here already?" said Remus, trying to school his voice into nonchalant interest, although instinctive defensiveness had begun to bubble in his stomach. His happy mood had vanished like smoke.

"Oh, you can tell- they have a certain look, you know? Long hair and all that. I've brought in a few myself, you know, nasty business- funny that one would be on our side, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well from what I've heard, most of them have joined You-Know-Who– can't imagine why, what with his blood purity hang-ups…"

"I suppose," said Remus thoughtfully, "That they imagine he's going to give them a better life… a chance to live without the stigma of their condition… and I suspect some of them just want revenge."

"Revenge?" she said curiously.

"On wizards," he replied with a nod, "for the way they've been treated. It's all rot, of course; wizards in general are hardly responsible for the poor treatment of werewolves, just as werewolves in general are hardly responsible for the crimes of a few against wizards. And Voldemort certainly has no intention of giving any of them a better life– goodness knows what he'll do to them once he stops needing them."

"Wow; you said You-Know-Who's name!" Tonks said, impressed. "You must be really brave, Mister- say, what's your name, anyway?"

"Alright, everyone, settle down!" Mad-Eye barked, interrupting their conversation. "Dumbledore'll be here any minute!"

They all quickly sat down; unfortunately, Remus found himself seated beside the pink-haired witch, and bit back a groan. The thing was, he _did_ like her. She had a lot of the qualities that made Sirius such a good friend: she seemed brilliant and passionate and mischievous, though a right sight more cheerful than her cousin at the moment. They probably could have become good friends.

Barring, of course, who he was, what she did for a living, and what she clearly thought about _his kind._

Just as Mad-Eye had predicted, Professor Dumbledore arrived a minute or so later and officially called the meeting to order. He had Severus give a quick cover of Voldemort's latest orders for the Death Eaters, to which the headmaster said, "Excellent, Severus, thank you. Arthur, please make a note of that last point about Mr. Rookwood.

"Now!" he continued pleasantly, "To the matter of Mr. Potter's caretaking: Remus, I believe you had last watch; could you provide us with your report?"

"Certainly, Professor," he replied calmly, and privately relished in the look of shock that crossed the young auror's face as he rose to his feet. "Harry is doing fine-well, as fine has he can be with that lot– but he seems to be desperate for information…" He trailed off. It was clear to everyone what his opinion was of _certain matters_ being kept from Harry, even if for the boy's own good. "Nothing out of the ordinary occurred on my watch; frankly, there's not much to report."

"Excellent; thank you, Remus." Lupin gave a short nod and sat down. He noticed, with a stab of vindictive pleasure, that the witch was not meeting his eyes; indeed, her hair had gone a brilliant shade of cherry-red.

Neither of them dared speak to each other for the rest of the meeting, or indeed even during supper, sneaking glances at each other in turn and blushing whenever they accidently met eyes. As quickly as was polite, the witch cleared her place after supper and made to leave, but was caught by Sirius before she could do so and found her visit prolonged by a highly overdue family reunion. Remus did his best to stay out of the way, which was more difficult than he'd anticipated because Sirius kept trying to invite him into the conversation. When Tonks eventually excused herself to use the loo (or, more likely, escape the awkward atmosphere), Sirius rounded on his friend.

"What is the _matter_ with you? You're being awful rude to Nymphy, old chap."

"I'm not trying to be rude," he insisted, "and I don't think she likes being called by her first name."

Sirius studied him, and then grinned. "Oh, _I_ get it. You fancy her, don't you!"

"No, I-"

"You old _dog!_ Or wolf, I suppose, since I'm the old dog-"

"That's not-"

"Not exactly your normal type, is she? Or are you no longer into the bookish short? Don't you worry, Moony, I'll make sure you two end up locked in a broom closet together within the month!"

"Sirius, it's got nothing to do with-" Then he caught sight of his friend's jovial face and realized he couldn't possibly stand to ruin Sirius's opinion of his newfound cousin, let alone take away his fun after so many years stifled by loneliness and self-recrimination. "…She's too young for me," he settled on vaguely.

"Nonsense! Age is no determiner; my parents were only two years apart, and their marriage was horrific!"

"Your parents were first cousins, Sirius."

"And you and Nymphy aren't related at all! It's perfect!"

Sirius continued to tease them all evening, making them even more uncomfortable and desperate to escape each other's company, until at last Remus convinced his friend that he really had to get home. Sirius volunteered Tonks to escort him to the door, insisting it was her duty here on the "family estate," and gave Remus a last wink as he disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the two to stand there awkwardly in the dusty corridor.

"…I'm sorry about him," Remus said quietly, watching as the woman bit her lip and shuffled her feet. Her hair had gone a light hue of magenta. "He can be really thick sometimes…"

"I-It's fine," she stammered, gaze fixed immovably on the dusty Persian carpet. Neither spoke for a long moment.

"…Well," Remus said at last. "I suppose I'd best be on my way." He inclined his head politely and put on his hat. "Good day, Miss Tonks."

She nodded again, still not meeting his eyes. Remus swallowed, prickling with hot shame, and headed for the door.

Then, from behind him, there came a noise of dismay. "Er- Mr. Lupin?" Tonks mumbled, so quietly that he wondered if she'd even meant for him to hear at all.

But hear he did, thanks to his heightened senses, and turned. She flushed all the way from her cheeks to the ends of her, now bright scarlet, hair.

"Yes?" he said cordially, and tried not to feel vindictive at her embarrassment. Well, she deserved to be embarrassed! Shooting off her mouth like that, she could have at least had the decency to gossip about him behind his back like ordinary folk-

But one look at her expression cut his irritated mental rant short. The young woman was grimacing so badly it seemed she might cry, her face one of utter mortification. "I- er- I think you should know," she stammered, "The way all that sounded- it wasn't how I meant it."

He managed a small, bitter smile. "You needn't apologize, Miss Tonks; I'm rather used to people being… refreshingly honest, with their opinions of me. And frankly, it'd be unfair of me to expect any more of you, current climate being what it is." He turned again towards the door.

"No, no, wait- you don't understand!" she nearly shrieked, drawing his attention back to her. She'd at last managed to look up at him, dark eyes wide. "Please, just hear me out," she begged, hands clasped imploringly. "Please."

He hesitated, and then gestured for her to continue. She wrung her hands, swallowing. "I- I don't think- that is to say-" She sighed. "I mean, I don't really think about you the way that I'm sure you must think I do. I know I made it sound like I think you're all- all bloodthirsty killers, or something like that, but I swear, that's not it at all. But I'm-" She closed her eyes and said in an embarrassed rush: "But I'm an officer of the law, that's all, so all of the werewolves I've met before- well, they're different, they're not like you, and I know that of course that's not a good standard to judge people by, but so many of them are joining up with You-Know-Who, or so I've heard from Kingsley and Mad-Eye, and I just- I just-" She sighed again and opened her eyes. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for making such an arse of myself, and if you hate me, I totally understand," she finished, shame-faced and biting her lip.

Remus stared, stunned. The young woman noted his silence and said tiredly, "Well, that's all, and I s'pose I'll see you next week. Don't worry, I'll keep my distance; I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again." She turned and trudged down the hall towards the kitchen, her customary bounce weighed down with shame.

"Ms. Tonks!" he called out suddenly, broken from his shock, and she glanced back, startled. He quickly walked over to her. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

She blinked. "What for?"

"For apologizing. Most people wouldn't bother. And for the record, I don't hate you."

Hope flickered in her eyes. "You don't?"

He shook his head. "As you said, you're an officer of the law; I would assume that most of the werewolves you'd worked with before had all turned Feral, yes?"

"Yes- but that's no excuse-"

"No, but it's an understandable mistake, and hardly an unforgivable one." He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "What do you say we start over? Let bygones be bygones?"

She smiled back, a little hesitantly at first, and then with genuine happiness. "Sure," she agreed. "Hello, I'm Nymphadora Tonks- but just Tonks, if you don't mind." She offered a hand.

He shook it, smiling. "Remus Lupin, and please, call me Remus. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Tonks. Would you mind if I stayed for tea?" Amusement twinkled in his hazel eyes. "I think it would do us both good to get to know each other."

She laughed. "I'd like that, thanks."

He gestured towards the kitchen, and she took the lead, marveling for a moment of how this man whom she was sure she'd grievously offended pulled out her chair like a gentleman, before politely asking how she took her tea. Remus, for his part, felt his good cheer increasing with every second as the witch opened up and became her bubbly self again. He caught sight of Sirius in the doorway, who grinned and waggled his eyebrows. Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head, and the man let out his barking laugh, startling Tonks so much she tipped backwards in her chair. He laughed all the harder when Remus deftly caught her before she could hit the ground.

Thus was the first meeting of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin. For all that the romantics would tout the merit of love at first sight, the truest loves often do not begin with the sudden onset of passion, but with the tentative first steps of new friendship. In the case of one lonely werewolf and a clumsy metamorphagus, it seemed only fitting that their story would begin with a faux pas.

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 **A/N: So what did you think? I know the pun was cheesy, but I just couldn't help myself.** **J** **Please review!**


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